home_and_away_soap_operafandomcom-20200213-history
Michael Ross
Michael Ross was a character in Home And Away, played by Dennis Coard. He first appeared in October 1990 (Episode 651) and was last seen in April 1996 (Episode 1912). He became the second husband of Pippa Fletcher in 1991, but 5 years later was drowned in an accident. The obvious chemistry between Pippa and Michael spilled over into real life. Dennis and his on-screen wife Pippa (Debra Lawrance) have been married for real since 1992. Backstory Michael was married for 15 years to Cynthia and they had two children - Haydn and Kate. He ran a successful boating marina in the city and the family lived a comfortable, affluent lifestyle. A big house, fancy cars, children attending expensive schools etc. Then Michael's business started to fail and finally went broke. It also brought his faltering marriage to an end. Cynthia left him and convinced their two children that it was all his fault. Unsurprisingly, their divorce was acrimonious and led to "the fiercest fighting since the Second World War". His daughter Kate never forgave him for her parents' divorce and cut contact with him. In October 1990, Michael bought the Norfolk Boat Shed from Fred Owens and moved to Summer Bay to start a new life. 1990-1996 When Michael bought the Boat Shed, he didn't know that Carly and Ben Lucini had already shaken hands on the deal and believed they were about to take ownership of the business. His bid that was $10,000 higher turned the seller's head. Ben was furious and very hostile to Michael at first. Once their misunderstandings were resolved, Ben came to work for Michael and they generally got on well after that. Michael moved into the caravan park and was soon joined by his teenage son Haydn. Michael was almost instantly attracted to Pippa but it took her a little bit longer to admit that she liked him just as much. Tom was only dead for 6 months when they first met so there was a lot to process. They became friends but it was obvious that there was something more going on beneath the surface. In Episode 678, Michael kissed Pippa under the mistletoe in Summer Bay House and laid his cards on the table. The pair agreed to take things slowly, though it's unlikely either of them expected their first "date" to involve a disastrous road trip with Floss and Neville's old caravan and a night camping out in the bush on stinking mattresses. At first, neither Sally nor Haydn were happy about them getting together. Sally didn't want to see Pippa moving on after Tom while Haydn still thought his parents just needed to try harder to sort out their problems. They weren't the only stumbling blocks Michael and Pippa encountered. The morning after their first proper date, Michael's ex-wife Cynthia showed up looking for a reconciliation with him. She managed to manipulate Pippa into breaking up with Michael but her plan didn't work out. He was long over Cynthia and had already fallen in love with Pippa. With Cynthia gone, Michael and Pippa resumed their fledgeling relationship. Over an improvised meal in his caravan, Michael told Pippa that he was in love with her and she admitted that she loved him too. Then things took an unexpected twist (as they do). The very next night, Michael nearly drowned in an accident at the Boat Shed. His near-death experience prompted him to get around to doing the things he'd not got around to yet. First on the list was a marriage proposal to a stunned Pippa. At first she turned him down, fearing she'd get hurt again if something went wrong. Michael was devastated but when he finally got through to her, she said Yes. They got engaged in March 1991 (Episode 728) and married a month later (Episode 757). After the wedding, Michael and Haydn moved into Summer Bay House. Although he had rebuilt his relationship with Haydn, they later fell out again over Michael's attempts to stop him from hanging around with his best friend Blake. Haydn returned to live with his mum in the city and they didn't speak for a further two years. When Sophie fell in love with David Croft, Michael was very much opposed to their relationship and tried to stop them from seeing each other. When Sophie later discovered she was pregnant with David's daughter, he struggled with that at the start. However, by the time baby Tamara was born, Michael had become Sophie's biggest ally. When she went into labour early and Pippa was nowhere to be found, he stayed with her in the delivery room and helped her through it. In July 1992, Pippa discovered that she was pregnant with their son Dale. (In real life, Debra Lawrance was expecting her and Dennis's first child). Tragically, baby Dale died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in April 1993 (Episode 1222). Dale's death had a terrible effect on both Pippa and Michael and it nearly destroyed their marriage. This wasn't to be the last major test for Michael and Pippa. In 1994, Haydn unexpectedly returned to Summer Bay. He convinced his dad that he wanted to repair their relationship and had plans to set up a surf shop locally. In truth, Haydn had become a gambling addict with significant debts that needed paying. Eager to help his son with his new business venture, Michael took out a large bank loan for him. Almost as soon as the money hit his bank account, Haydn had cleaned it out and was gone. Unable to keep the Boat shed open and repay the loan, he put the business up for auction. It didn't sell on the day, much to Michael and Pippa's horror. Shortly afterwards Alf Stewart stepped in and became a silent partner. In the latter half of 1994, Pippa and Michael's marriage began to run into serious difficulties. The stress of running multiple businesses and looking after six kids (Damian, Jack, Sally, Shannon, Sam and Christopher.) became too much for him. This wasn't helped by Pippa's tendency to take things over and to treat him like one of the kids. Things finally came to a head just before Christmas (Episode 1596). Michael decided that the only way he and Pippa could sort their problems was for him to move out for a while and give everyone some space. He moved into the scungy storeroom over the boat shed and spent a lonely Christmas morning by himself. Things were made worse by Sally running away from home later that day after a disastrous Christmas dinner in Summer Bay House. Shortly afterwards, Irene suggested to him that he and Pippa should try having some marriage counselling. It worked, though not without some stumbling blocks. Michael moved back home and the pair were happy again. A few months later, Michael rescued a little Yugoslav girl called Maya from a light aircraft which had crashed in the bush. She was an orphaned refugee and he quickly became quite attached to her. He was devastated when the authorities found some of her relatives back home and took her away. She had been the first kid he'd brought into the family and now he understood what Pippa went through any time any of them went away. In 1995 Michael and Pippa decided to sell the Boat shed to Rob Storey, bringing an end to that era. It had provided employment to quite a few Summer Bay residents, including Ben, Adam Cameron, Revhead, Ryan Lee, Greg Marshall, Alf Stewart(!) and Shane Parrish. Tragically Michael drowned when trying to rescue Sam from a swollen river in April 1996 (Episode 1912) Memorable info Birthday: Unknown, about 1950 Died: 29th April 1996 (aged about 45) (drowning) Full Name: Michael Ross First Line: "Oh yeah, and all these." (to Alf) Last Line: "Help me!" (to Jack) Family Spouse Cynthia Ross (1974-1989), Pippa Fletcher (1991-1996) Children Haydn Ross, Kate Ross, Dale Ross See also Michael Ross - List of appearances Category:Home And Away characters. Category:Past characters. Category:Characters first seen in 1990. Category:Characters last seen in 1996. Category:Ross family. Category:1974 marriages. Category:1991 marriages. Category:1996 deaths. Category:Boat shed owners. Category:Fictional Australians of English ancestry. Category:Residents of Summer Bay House. Category:Births circa 1945. Category:Residents of Summer Bay Caravan Park. Category:Deceased characters